Day 3: Add protein – beans, tofu, fish, eggs (not to be eaten with items added on Day 2)

Mini-cleanse Day 1

I purposely chose a Sunday to start the mini-cleanse. One reason is that it is my day off from working out. Another reason is that it is my day off from working. Period.

Hence, I didn’t have to worry about a pre-workout meal. For breakfast, I baked cored & quartered apples with dried cherries, cardamom, and ginger. It filled the apartment with a heavenly scent. I sat down at the kitchen table, lit the first candle in the Advent candle holder, and said a prayer. Then I slowly ate each piece, making sure to take a small break between each bite. It was good. I finished up with a cup of tea, as I do after each meal during the cleanse.

An hour later, I was hungry… I held out a bit longer and then snacked on carrots and half an avocado (the avocados are lifesavers!). Shortly thereafter, I started preparing lunch. I roasted rutabaga, beets, carrots, and onions in the oven and sprinkled dulse granules on top right before eating. It was different, but good. I also ate a raw veggie salad.

In the afternoon, I wolfed down a banana and a few hours later broke down and had two (very much needed) rice cakes. Finally I felt like I was not famished. For dinner, I baked a yam, cooked some green beans, and polished off the avocado from earlier in the day. Later, before bedtime, I had an orange. I felt satisfied, but went to bed with a slight headache. I also didn’t sleep well and had a strange feeling in my body. I imagined it was all the toxins starting to move their way out of my system.

Mini-Cleanse Day 2

I woke up feeling quite good. I started the day with a half banana and a quarter of an apple. Then I hit the treadmill. I had no idea what kind of workout I would be able to have, but it went better than expected. I lasted 50 minutes and probably could’ve kept going, but it was time to go home and fix breakfast for my daughter, Rebecka.

After a quick shower, I fixed my breakfast: hash browns. They were delicious! I used a recipe from the book which called for chopped onions sautéed in olive oil and then joined by cut-up baked potatoes, salt, and pepper. I also added chopped almonds. It was delicious and kept me full much longer than the baked apples. I’m going to have that again tomorrow!

For a snack, I had two rice cakes. It’s amazing how awesome rice cakes taste when you’re grain-deprived (yes, one day is deprivation). Lunch was easy, because I had the left-over root vegetable bake from the previous day along with a raw veggie salad and avocado.

My afternoon snack consisted of a handful of almonds. I ate them one by one with utmost reverence. Rebecka and I were out and about around dinner time and I needed to pick up some food from the co-op, so I decided to eat dinner there. I ended up with rice (oh my gosh – yum!), sautéed veggies, and a large salad.

Unfortunately, I was hungry again by the time we reached home. So I ate a rice cake. Sophie, our Bichon Frisé ate the crumbs that fell on the kitchen floor. It was not a super mindful snack.

Now I’m hungry again and I will likely have an orange within the next 30 minutes. Then I’ll go to bed hungry and hopefully headache-less (I’m thinking I’ll have to take something for it). I just don’t seem to be able to eat enough “vital essence” foods to get full. This is something I’ll need to work on before I attempt to do the 21-day cleanse.